A public consultation was recently launched so people could comment on the Hastings Town Centre Public Realm and Green Connections project. The consultation ended on March 1. In a tweet on X (formerly Twitter) yesterday (Thursday, March 7), Hastings Town Deal said: “Thank you to everyone who gave feedback on proposals for the Hastings Public Realm & Green Connections project. Almost 1,000 responses were received by East Sussex County Council. Public consultation is closed and the team will now review all responses to help refine the scheme.” In 2021, Hastings was one of 101 towns in the UK to receive a share of the Government’s Towns Fund to kickstart the regeneration of the town with funding of £24.3m. An open day was also held at the end of January at Priory Meadow Shopping Centre for residents, businesses and visitors to give updates on the programme, with an exhibition consisting of visual updates for all projects and representatives for each of the current projects present to answer questions around the projects. One of the schemes is the Hastings Town Centre Public Realm and Green Connections project, which could see the creation of new cycle routes, the removal of traffic and the rerouting of bus services. However, the proposals have attracted criticism from residents, with one describing them as ‘hair-brained’ on the Observer’s Facebook page following January’s open day event. Some raised concerns about removing bus stops on Harold Place and removing the taxi rank in Havelock Road. Residents who commented also called for paving to be upgraded, for public toilets to be replaced and for more benches to be put back in the town centre. Roy Beeley said: “I’m all for smartening up what is already there in the town centre but to go ahead with this hare-brained scheme to de-pedestrianise part of the town and move the only taxi rank seems utterly pointless.” On its website Hastings Town Deal said: “The project will transform Hastings town centre, complementing its built heritage with multifunctional spaces that will encourage dwell time and promote wellbeing, through the widespread application of beautiful, ecologically rich and biodiverse horticulture that is cost-effective and simple to maintain. “The Hastings Garden Town vision, inspired by Great Dixter’s world-famous philosophy of creative ecology, combines horticultural innovation, biodiverse creativity to transform the public realm as an exemplary project in the region. “The project sets out early ideas to improve public spaces in our town centre and make the area more green, attractive, healthy and fun. “The proposal includes infrastructure for improved walking and cycling throughout the town, cycle parklets, general enhanced public realm, infrastructure for markets, events and festivals and an interwoven lighting and public art project. The objective being to increase dwell time, visitor numbers, generating higher spend and attracting new investment.” More information on the Town Deal programme can be found via the Hastings Town Deal blog www.hastingstowndeal.co.uk and on Facebook, Instagram, and X.